Rotary Club serves hot soup and pie on a cold winter night

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

They weren’t about to call off the Charles City Rotary Club’s annual soup supper Saturday night.

“That would have been a problem,” said Charles City Rotarian Tammy Elthon, “because of all the fresh pies.”

Despite blizzard conditions and below-zero wind chills through the night Friday and well into Saturday, almost 190 people showed up at the Elks Lodge in Charles City to warm up with some hot soup and a slice of delicious pie. Several rotary members were at the Elks Lodge early in the day clearing off the snow, while several others were inside getting the soup ready.

The menu included four kinds of soups, relishes and crackers at the tables, beverages and an assortment of homemade pies for dessert. Turkey sandwich sliders were an added entree.

“Sliders were new this year, and I think they went over well,” said Elthon. “Last year, when the weather was good, we did about 220 people, so if we can reach about 200 this year, that’s a success.”

The Rotary Club has been holding the soup supper in various forms and at various locations for decades, including at the high school. This was the second year the event was held at the Elks Lodge. Free valet service was offered, with Bruce Winkelman and Chris Garden parking the cars.

Braving the wintry conditions for a hot cup of soup is nothing new to Charles City residents. Elthon said that when the Rotary Club used to hold the soup supper at the high school, the best year for attendance was on a night “when we had the worst weather we’d ever had.”

The annual event raises money to help finance the Charles City Rotary Club’s many service projects. Rotarians served the meal buffet-style, and were also available to provide table service. A cash bar was also open as a way for the Elks Lodge to make some extra money.

Placemats at the supper had the latest list of items that will be available for bid at the club’s Rotary Radio Auction, which will take place Saturday morning, Feb. 1, on KCHA radio. Patrons at the soup supper were encouraged to take a placemat home and follow along with the radio broadcast, which has been an annual event for 11 years now.

“Don’t forget our auction,” Elthon said. “We’ll be ready to go with that very soon. It’s a lot of fun.”